Dog Days and Back to School!
August usually signals the beginning of the dog days of summer, as well as the beginning of a new school year. This particular August is shaping up to be less than typical for yours truly. Indiana has experienced a cooler than average summer, and August has got off to a cool start with temperatures in the 70's. Being a cool weather kind of gal, no one has heard me complaining about the weather, but I do admit that the whole summer has had more of the feel of early autumn.

After 13 years of the same old back to school routine, this year is going to be a huge adjustment for my family. To begin with, my youngest son, Kuyler, will be starting his first year of high school. However, the big change will happen at the end of this month when we settle my oldest son, Kelie, into his college dormitory at Indiana Tech. My husband I were thrilled when Indiana Tech aggressively recruited our boy, and offered him two substantial scholarships. We were very pleased with his decision to turn down Purdue in favor or a relationship based education, which will suit his personality and learning style much better. He will be majoring in computer networking, and has already set up an interview for an on-campus job in the Information Technology department. In case you can't tell, I'm extremely proud of my baby!

Our household is going to be a very different place without Kelie's daily presence. He has an intense personality, which, when combined with my personality, creates quite a bit of drama. We're expecting the new family dynamic to be much more calm and quiet, and I can guarantee that things will be neater. The kid is like a tornado with all of his computer and gadget building projects. He leaves a trail of parts, pieces and cords, not to mention the strewn clothing and dishes from half-eaten, forgotten meals and snacks. My real concern is for his younger brother. The boys are very close, best friend whether they're willing to admit it or not, and Kuyler may find the adjustment more difficult than the rest of us.

I know that many of you will be sending children back to school and college. I wish you the best of luck in making the transition to new schedules and dealing with with the stress of change.